Transcript:

The issue of relocation is a very interesting topic and when one parent is requesting to relocate, when one parent is requesting the courts permission to allow them to relocate to a different geographical area the first question a court will ask is is the proposed relocation in the child’s best interest. And to determine whether the proposed relocation is in the child’s best interest the court will want to know what are the reasons for the move. Is there a financial reason for the move? Is there an educational benefit to the move? The court is going to want to know and truly understand what this child’s life will look like in a different neighborhood, possibly in a different county or a different state.

After the court understands the proposed reasons for the move, the court will look at what is the effect of the move on the relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent. And looking at that the court will consider what is the parenting schedule? Does the non-custodial parent have substantial and meaningful parenting time with the child? The court will also look at what is the distance of the move. Is the parent who is proposing to relocate looking to move 20 minutes, 30 minutes away or are they looking to move cross country, are they looking to move to an areas that is not simply accessible by train or car. These are the things that a court will consider when a relocation case is in front of them.